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Pigeon EnglishSecular shelf lifeEchoes of DamilolaPIGEON ENGLISH The cover of this book is bright and immediate, grabbing the attention with strong colours and simple lines, and in many ways the cover style reflects the contents. Echoing the murder of Damilola Taylor in 2000, this book tells the story of an 11-year-old Ghanaian boy recently arrived in a London council estate. Harri narrates his story in a distinctive voice, mixing street talk with Ghanaian slang; his na•ve observations of life in his deprived area are deliberately poignant. The framework for the story, though it rambles through Harri’s everyday experiences at home, school and on the estate, is the detective work Harri and a friend undertake after the knifing of local boy. Their clumsy discoveries lead to a shocking climax. Along the way we meet exploitation, sex and violence as the innocent become implicated in neighbourhood gang crime. Harri’s credulity and morality keep the narrative from being weighty, but prevent a proper exploration of the issues raised. Instead the reader is given a simple snapshot of the workings of a disordered community. As I type this, the governmental report on this summer’s riots is being published and I am reminded of the reality of the dysfunction and moral decay of our cities. In Pigeon English, Harri’s innocence and his recollections of an idealised homeland are used to contrast with the hardened and corrupt world he has entered. I could easily criticise the way this book has been written (it seems to follow the recent vogue for child narrators and stylised voices), but it is nonetheless a powerful and moving presentation of how sin entangles. But while the book identifies the problem, it neither shows the causes nor provides any answers. The (very unconvincing) voice of a pigeon is one attempt to see outside of Harri’s situation, but, like secular commentators, the voice can offer no hope. Praise God for the gospel which provides a way out. Sarah Allen© Evangelicals Now - January 2012 |